[A-LEVEL MEDIA] Stranger Things and Deutschland 83

when and where was st first streamed

netflix july 2016

why was the release date of st weird?

released in summer
aimed at younger online audiences
more traditional release time for horror genre is around halloween

Producers of st

21 laps entertainment, released as original Netflix series.
Netflix has sole distribution rights
written and directed by duffer bros

how was st promotion used effectively?

relied on word of mouth, made release visible to Netflix online subs and targeted range of viewers

examples of st promotion

•4 hr twitch, with gamers in studio build of st basement
•cinematic trailer on YT
•first 8 mins of ep 1 on YT
•VR video of basement set
•twitter, fb, insta with features linked to q&a, interviews etc.
•wides

st examples of intertextuality

•D&D
•Stephen Spielberg E.T, with cam panning down from sky emulating opening of E.T
•Stephen Spielberg Poltergeist

why does st use intertextuality

•provides familiarity and starting point for interest/engagement

diff between traditional tv and netflix

•need satisfy advertisers with continuous narrative hooks to retain their audience on scheduled basis
•Netflix streaming service, no pressure of cable TV

d intertextual relay

genre codes and conventions established not just in media products but also in products that refer to or promote these products, such as critical writings, advertising and marketing material

eg of intertextual relay in st

font used in title invoke memories of star wars film poster. drawing on similar expectations to help define and circulate st

How does st encourage spreadability?

narrative complexity of storytelling pulls audience in direction of engagement

d textual poaching

the appropriation by fans of media texts or the characters within them for the fans' own pleasure

how did st establish a theme of 80s outside the show

80s style computer game and title sequence generator

D83 producers

co-production between AMC Networks (american entertainment company) and RTL Television(German television network)
Sundance TV is under AMC

sundance ethos

delivers distinctive, compelling and culturally relevant content

what does d83 suggest about tv

shows competitive nature of US cable and satellite TV, where channesl like Sundance seek quality programming to maintain brand, eg moving into international co-operation to produce ppremiere foreign language programming)

Who did the distribution?

co-operation with FremantleMedia International in UK through SundanceTV

when and where did d83 premiere

june 2015 in usa

d83 viewing figures

2.5m viewers on jan 2016

who owned the global distribution rights to d83

Fremantle, british subsidiary of Bertelsmann RTL group and Europe's largest TV production company

D83 ep1 viewing stat

Ep 1 'Quantum Leap'
3.19m viewers, in UK C4 attracted 2.16m and America about 500k

what was d83 considered during its first season

a sleeper hit

Who negotiated rights of third season

Amazon

other d83 distribution

Distributed in Ireland and Australia
Online services Sky Deutschland, Netflix and Amazon

what did d83 do to have realistic rep

shot in and around locations in Berlin:
•suburb in east
•Stasi Museum, actual site of original Stasi headquarters

D83 marketing

online campaign with dedicated website, interactive, shows Berlin present vs past.
digital promo, stylistic propaganda-style art, episode summaries and quotes, and references to pop music culture of the 80s

who wrote d83

anna winger

Historical and cultural contexts

•set in 80s, cold war, setting of geopolitcally and ideologically divided Germany
•intertextual to Reagan's evil emprire speech, denoucing Soviet Russia as 'evil empire'

d soviet bloc

The communist nations closely allied with the Soviet Union, including Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, whose foreign policies depended on those of the former Soviet Union.

east and west Germany rep

east rigidly controled state that promotes womens equality, with Lenora
west less controlled, military as rigidly patriarchal

D83 songs

Major Tom - coming home
99 luftballoon - Nena
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
Jugendliebe - Ute Freundenberg

D83 actors

Lenora - Maria Schrader
Martin - Jonas Nay

Barthes in ST

•signs to intro Hopper - badge, gun, uniform, empty beer can, character meaning + ideological messages around power/masculinity, reflects dominant ideology
•Est shot wheeler house, eg of signs as myths, house is physical object, ideas of family + home, viewed as expected social norm cos signs accrue social meanings to communicate msgs

Todorov in ST

equilibrium boys playing D&D, nuclear fam in suburban house
•diseq will disappear, vulnerability of latchkey kid, reinforce social norms of nuclear fam
•no res in ep 1
•end of s1, joyce rescues will, wheelers oblivious to what hap to nancy + mike

neale in st

•generic hybridity, horror scifi, broad audience
•distribution of st limits importance of intertextual relay in constructing genre expectations, nflx release all eps simultaneously, reivews and marketing may have less influence to affected expectiations on genre

Levi Strauss in ST

adult/child; safety/vulnerability; male/female; masculine/feminine; power/weakness; authority/powerlessness; bully/nerd; popular/outsider; known/unknown; science/paranormal; middle class/working class; nuclear family/single parent family.
•first half of each pair dominant,
•sympathetic depiction of will critique on hegemonic masculinity

baudrillard in st

•hyperreal, rep based on other media rep. high density intertextuality
•signs - costumes, hair styles, props, set design, music, pop culture references, hyperreal version of 80s

hall in st

•white, patriarchal, heteronormative society
•stereotypes of vulnerable child, harassed single mother, emotionally repressed male

gauntlett in st

•rep of 80s society may suggest identities more fixed in past than in contemporary society, patriarchal power and entrenched gender roles
•however contrasting rep of masculinty - hopper, mr wheeler, mr clark, jonathan, steve, will
•online ► self-expression and identification with chars → art, fan fiction, memes - participation

van zoonen in st

•patriarchal 80s America, females are either subordinate or stereotypically female
•empowered rep of El, Nancy smart, Joyce resilient, reflect progressive rep

hooks in st

•patriarchal social order, 80s reflecting more rigid social structure
•intersectional approach, impact of social class, diff between working class single mother and middle class housewife
•absense of female chars from other ethnicities, only empowerment of white females

Butler in St

•El doesn't conform to gender norms, mistaken for boy, raised in isolation, not learned how to perform normative gender role. supports Butler that no essential gender identity, El becomes more socialised
•will not conform to normal gender norms
•both chars eg of 'gender trouble', do not conform to gender norms, way other chars react → gender norms policed and reinforced (will bullied)

Gilroy in st

•social world predom white, black characters are supporting or minor characters
•media rep are often addressed to a white audience

Curran and Seaton in ST

•success of Netflix undermines theory that internet does not challenge dominance of established media institutions
•streaming industry dom by small number, Netflix Amazon → oligopoly which limits audience choice
•investment in original content can challenge theory
•ST result from commercially successful genres and narratives, established industry producer Shawn Levy
•does not consider media productions shaped by audience demand and underestimates impact online media

Livingstone and Lunt in ST

•netflix abide EU reg, outside UK reg for TV Ofcom, challenge for regulators from global/online distribution

•ST distressing for young, Benny dies, Netflix no restriction, account holder manage access/parental controls

•Ofcom identify 'changing technology, audience fragmentation and global competition' risk to PSB, Ofcom want UK broadcaster to co-op to compete with streaming services

•✘ help with how audiences engage, impact of ownership on content

Hesmondhalgh in ST

•ST designed for broad audience, use of pop genres, well-known actors, pop films influence →narrative/chars, 80s nostalgia, young/adult chars
•data algorithms by netflix to engineer productions to avoid risk, hesmond says tech led ↑surveillance of audiences by companies
•does not take account active audience interaction with products, cultural/ideological elements in products
•Netflix challenger to est media organisation, disrupting dominance of conglomerates, although it doms market for streaming

Bandura in ST

•rep could influence beliefs and attitudes. rep of male characters in authority, reinforce patriarchal ideas
•scenes of violence/aggressive behaviour (bullying)
•draws attention to importance of regulation
•does not consider diff ways to engage with meanings

Gerbner in ST

•gender roles and family, depiction of social norms seen as example of mainstreaming, however complexity of rep and readings limit impact on audience
•mean world syndrome, vulnerability of children
•mainstreaming values and attitudes over time
•tv viewing now more fragmented, ability to cultivate attitudes and beliefs lessened
•underestimates diversity of media rep and audience can actively engage and reject values

Hall in ST

•preferred readings - positions audience with will to sympathise for him
•patriarchal society, hopper and mr wheeler subvert gender roles

Jenkins in ST

•textual poaching, fan culture - fan art, fan fiction, memes and social media posts
•'Justice for Barb', convergence culture, created from audience and how fan culture interact with production, S2 storyline focus on Barb's parents as response
•Social media interaction with actors, writers and producers.

Shirky in ST

•fan culture diff ways engage actively with media products, 'Justice for Barb'. Fan wiki eg of cognitive surplus, using free time creatively to produce content
•Netflix model shift from restricted tv format for production, distribution and consumption
•Netflix still act as gatekeeprs following the 'filter then publish' model